General Tso's Tofu

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My poor camera. The screen won't come on, so I can't choose my manual functions, which means I can't turn off the flash, and I can't see the photo after I've taken it. It's like living in 1988!

Therefore you have to see this wonderful dish all flash-y and yuck. But the food... it is anything but.

I still can't believe I ate tofu AND brown rice in one meal and I didn't die. In fact... I loved it. This sauce is the best.

I'm really, really sad there is none in my house right now.

I'm not crying. I have something in my eye.

Ingredients
1 block firm tofu, drained and pressed. You can even freeze it overnight, and it changes the texture.
1 egg, beaten (or egg replacer, if you want vegan)
3/4 cup cornflour
vegetable oil
3 chopped green onions
1 tbs minced ginger
1 tbs minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
2/3 cup vegetable stock
4 tbs soy sauce
4 tbs brown sugar
red pepper flakes
1 tbs dry sherry
1 tbs white vinegar
steamed broccoli

Directions:

1. Drain and squeeze tofu and cut into dice.

2. Marinate it for as long as you desire in a mixture of green onions, ginger, garlic, stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper flakes, sherry and white vinegar.

3. Remove tofu from marinade with slotted spoon and toss tofu with egg/egg replacer to coat.

4. Sprinkle cornflour over and toss to coat.

5. Heat oil in pan and dry tofu pieces until golden. Set aside.

6. Remove garlic, ginger and green onion (or as much of it as possible) from the marinade with a slotted spoon, and fry in oil a minute or two. Add the rest of marinade mixture and return tofu to the pan.

7. Mix 2 tbs water with 1 tbs cornflour and pour into sauce, stirring constantly until slightly thickened and everything is heated through.

8. Add broccoli and serve over rice.

Adapted from here.

Smoky Barbecue Kebabs

Ever since I bought liquid smoke from here , I have been obsessed with making thick, rich barbecue sauce. The kind you can eat with a spoon.

I got one from the Deen brothers, offspring of one of my ultimate cooking heroes, Paula Deen, and oh my Ford, it is unbelievably good!

So for my friend Miss Yesmin's barbecue, where she's hosting some super-cool veggie heads like me, I present to you the dish that will make non-tofu eaters LOVE it. Even if it's just for one night. I should know, I'm one of them.

OHHHHHHH..... good, right?

The tofu HAS to be Pureland... everything else tastes... um... not as good. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 block of Pureland firm tofu
• 1 cup ketchup, or tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke 
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method

1. Chop your tofu in half widthways, so you have two even-sized squares. then chop these into five long strips, which you then cube. Don't make them too big, or they won't soak up the marinade properly. For even better soaking qualities, place the tofu on a plate, and put a second plate on top with something heavy on it to squeeze all the water out. Leave for about an hour, and drain.

2. Put the tofu in a shallow dish with the onion, orange juice and garlic. Cover and marinate for at least an hour.

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

4. Thread your marinated tofu onto skewers, and place in one layer on a plate. Pour half the barbecue sauce over, and turn to cover thoroughly.

5. Cook on preheated barbecue, turning every now and then until the sauce caramelises on the outside. Keep basting with the marinade every time you turn them. Don't be shy, now!

6. When the kebabs are done, pour the rest of the sauce over and get busy eating!

Not just a load of old lentils

Greetings! Now i’m just as scared of tofu and tempeh and all the creepy-sounding, overly-healthy vegetarian foodstuffs as any regular person, which is why I created this site. Here you will find unfreaky food and recipes for vegetables that don’t immediately make you want to cry. Vegetarian food doesn’t have to be boring or hippy-flavoured unless you want it to be. If you do, i’m afraid Veggie Mama just ain’t for you!

I’m also considering growing a veggie baby in the near future, so sometimes the posts will focus on that. Given that these recipes won’t actually impregnate you, go ahead and eat them even if you’re a dude, or just not that into pregnancy right now. They will be delicious and nutritious and occasionally taste just like fake chicken.